


Human Nature

by RebeccaOTool



Series: The Magik Saga [3]
Category: The Real Ghostbusters
Genre: Fantasy, Gen, Horror, Mutant, Psychic, Transformation, powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-10
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-01-18 21:51:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1444153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebeccaOTool/pseuds/RebeccaOTool
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Egon was tortured for a year, his mental walls crumbled to dust, and Peter left dealing with the effects of being a dragon, everyone thought things were getting better.</p><p>Nobody considered what Ray was going through...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this at the pit, but I'm editing it for prose, grammar, and general coherence. The bones of a good story are here. I just need to bring them out.
> 
> Also, not abandoning my other GB fic, or Sherlock, or anything. Just had a minute to work on this, finally.

Ray watched the coffee boil, ignoring the faint laughter from upstairs. Egon was doing better after his psychic torture. That was great. He couldn't have been happier.

That didn't mean he and Peter had to lord their psychic connection over him all the time.

At first they'd all been so worried about Egon, it hadn't been on his radar. But as Egon got back to normal, the two of them just got...well, private. Six months later, and Egon was still having issues. And Peter was still focused only on him. It reminded Ray of college when he started working with Peter and Egon, already roommates and good friends. It'd been hard breaking into the inner circle.

He didn't fancy doing it all over again.

"Hello." Winston nodded at the men as they came downstairs. He was reading the paper.

"Hey Zedd." Peter smiled. It must have been a good night for Egon.

'Good morning.' Egon cleared his throat. "Excuse me: good morning."

Ray grunted assent and turned his focus back to the coffee. Egon and Peter resumed their conversation, speaking aloud now. Private conversations in front of others were rude, even if they were inaudible.

"What's on today's docket?" Winston asked.

"Just a few twos and threes." Ray poured himself a cup and joined him at the table. 

Egon vanished into the lab. Peter lingered for a moment. "Ray, has there been any word on--"

"Like I told you, I tracked the book as far as the Vatican. It got stolen in the early nineteen hundreds." Ray gripped his cup, trying to keep his voice level. "There's no sign of it after that."

The Tome of the Unknown. The book Dena had promised them could help Egon. Did Peter think he wasn't trying? 

"I doubt you can track it down, Ray." Egon returned, small beaker in hand. "It might not even exist any more."

"I just need more time." Ray snapped. "I found much more obscure books with enough time."

Egon blinked in surprise. "I didn't mean--"

"Never mind." Ray drained his cup and started for the stairs. They had work to do.

"We need to get moving." Winston tried to diffuse the tension and followed Ray.

"I'll join you in a moment." Egon shot Peter a concerned glance, but didn't alter his beeline for Janine's desk.

"He's been pretty attentive to Janine these last few months." Winston grinned. At least one good thing had happened in the wake of Osark's attack.

"Putting it nicely. I think--"

"Can we please go five minutes without discussing Egon and Janine?" Ray cut Peter off. "It's not that interesting! She's been flirting with him for five years, it's about time he acted on it!"

"Easy Ray, we're just happy for him." Peter said.

"Yeah I got that." Ray scowled. "Let's be happy when we don't have a bunch of ghosts to bust, okay?"

"Take it easy."

"Don't tell me to take it easy Peter. You've been riding me about that damned book for six months, and I'm sick of it. I've got enough on my plate without you harping on me." Ray's temper rose. "Try finding something yourself for ONCE!"

"Wait a minute--"

"YOU wait a minute. I'm going to load the gear." Ray stomped down the steps, heart hammering. He was mad, but he was _right_. Even if it made him feel ill. It had to be said.

He swallowed his nausea. Time to get to work.


	2. Chapter 2

The days busts hadn't gone as well as usual: Peter and Egon worked in perfect concert, but Winston and Ray weren't so lucky: unless Peter clued them in to the mental conversation, they were left in the dust. Ray had taken the brunt of the attacks, Peter forgoing his usual slimeing entirely. He was a bit perkier than usual. Peter tried to ignore Ray's dark mood: he'd been pissed off for a while now, and nothing he did would placate the younger man.

Egon sensed something was off with Peter. A small question mark popped into his head as they got into the Ectomobile, Ray silent in the driver's seat. Peter shook his head briefly. No sense in elaborating. It would pass.

Egon persisted. 'What's wrong?'

'Just Ray's attitude lately.' Peter replied. 'It's nothing, he's just stressed from looking for the book.'

'Maybe we should help a bit more.' Egon suggested.

'Maybe. But research isn't my strong suit.'

'I had _no_ idea.'

The dry wit was so Egon. Peter let out a small chuckle.

"Do you two want to get a room?" Ray snapped.

"Ray, don't." Winston jumped in. "We're all stressed. It was a lousy day."

"I'd be fine if the two of them weren't talking about me." Ray looked over his shoulder, scowling. "Just because you two are mutants it doesn't mean you're any smarter than the rest of us."

Peter's hackles rose at this. "I'm not a mutant."

"You've been mutated, ergo mutant." Ray's voice grew cool. "Or do you prefer _Homo Superior_?"

"Goddamnit Ray, I'm not--"

"I don't--"

"RAY, STOP!" Winston's yell cut the argument off. The car was heading straight for a telephone pole. He threw his hands up to brace for impact, mere seconds away.

There was a soft jolt, and the car was rolling backwards to a stop.

"Is everybody okay?" He forced the question out. 

Ray nodded, face pale.

'I believe I'm unhurt.' Egon cleared his throat. "Peter?"

"Fine." Peter unsnapped himself and got out. "We didn't even hit the pole!"

The others piled out. It was true: the pole was unscathed, as was the car.

Egon frowned, tracing the bumper with his fingers. "Something prevented us from hitting the telephone pole."

"I didn't see anything." Winston said.

"We all know Ray didn't see anything either." Peter muttered.

"If you hadn't been giggling like a schoolgirl I could have concentrated on the road!" Ray snapped. His fist was clenched.

Punching Peter suddenly seemed like a great idea. He ignored the little voice protesting somewhere in the back of his mind. This was too damn much. 

To Peter's astonishment, Ray growled. It was deep and menacing.

"Stantz--"

Ray rushed at him, fist raised.

"Ray, no!" Winston bellowed, hands raised. He'd never get to Ray before Ray got to Peter. There was murder in the younger man's eyes. Something was seriously wrong here.

Ray slowed slightly, as if Winston's cry had some effect, but his fist connected solidly with Peter's jaw. Peter rocked back from the force, and fell to the ground.

'Peter!' Egon was at his side, anguished cry echoing in everyone's heads. Peter groaned.

Ray stumbled back for a moment, unsure. He didn't want to hurt Egon...or...

...well...did he?

Winston sized the moment and grabbed Ray from behind in a bear hug. "Ray, stop!"

Ray snarled and spun, trying to throw the older man off. Winston tightened his grip, heart pounding. Ray _wasn't_ this strong. 

"Something's wrong!" Winston bellowed.

Egon helped Peter to his feet, the effects of the blow wearing off. 'Are you alright?'

"Fine, fine." Peter tried to ignore Egon's retreat to telepathy. They'd deal with it later. "We've gotta help Ray."

Then Ray broke Winston's grasp. Winston reeled back, putting distance between them. He was dizzy from the spinning.

Ray snarled, teeth bared. There was no human comprehension on the man's face.

"Ray, it's me. It's Zedd." Winston murmured, soothing. "Something is wrong with you. Let us help."

A look of confusion passed over Ray's face. "W-Winston?"

"Yeah, it's me." Winston didn't approach him. Not yet. "Cool down. Let's talk.

'It's alright.' Egon's voice was soft and soothing, even if inaudible. 

The three watched in shock as Ray sank to his knees, hands clamped over his ears, whimpering.

"No, no no, no--" Peter was at his side, grabbing his shoulders. "It's alright Ray, look at me, it's alright!"

Ray fell to the ground and curled into a ball, whimpers turning into howls of pain. 

"What's happening to him?" Winston asked in vain.

'I don't know!' Egon looked to Peter for guidance. 'What do we do?!'

Peter had no answer.

Ray was aware of the voices around him, as one is aware of the movement of the air. Unimportant. Pain wracked his body. He would have convulsed if curling up wasn't the only thing holding him together. His blood was fire. Skin, ice. His eyes were locked closed, darkness saving him from the stabbing sunlight. He howled, no trace of humanity in his voice.

As suddenly as it came, the pain was gone. He risked opening his eyes: his friends stared down at him, terrified. Peter's arms were around Egon's shoulders, protecting him. Ray braced a hand on the ground, trying to get up. Peter hauled Egon backwards. Ray stopped his movement, crouched low to the ground. He looked at his hands, transfixed. Long nails, claws really, furrowed trenches in the dirt. Orange fur covered his skin to his fingertips to the cuff of his uniform and beyond. He stared at it dumbly.

'Ray?'

That was all the terrified man needed; Ray sprung into a run, leaving the others shouting in his wake. They ran after him, but far too slow. He could easily outrun them.

Now.


	3. Chapter 3

Ray ran blindly through alleys, trying to put distance between himself and the others. Few people saw him, and those who did screamed, or ran in the opposite direction. 

There would be time to worry later.

He came to the end of a depopulated alley, and sank down. The intense rage faded, leaving the Ghostbuster exhausted.

'That's why I've been snapping at everyone lately.' Ray looked up into the dirty twilight sky. Tears trickled down his face. He’d been turning into a monster.

He’d hurt Peter. He’d wanted to _kill_ Peter. Only the savage transformation had stopped him.

The transformation...

Ray lowered his gaze, scanning the darkening alley for anything reflective. He spotted a puddle. Slowly, he stood and approached it. He'd only seen his transformed hands. Dark orange fur had sprouted on the skin. Other things seemed wrong, but without looking at himself, he couldn’t say what exactly.

Ray clenched his teeth and looked into the water.

He was completely orange.

Ray stared incredulously at his reflection. His skin and hair...no, fur appeared an idiotic orange in the dirty water. His face was furry, orange, but there were traces of himself left. His overall appearance was that of a humanoid-cat mix. His ears had turned pointed and moved upward.He was much taller, even taller than Egon, probably by at least a foot. His body shape hadn’t changed much, still a tad round. 

‘Some things never change.’ The Peter-esq thought caught him by surprise, and he laughed. Razor-sharp fangs reflected in the dirty water. Ray raised a hand to cover his mouth, and caught sight of his claws. 

'No wonder those people were screaming.' Ray sat heavily on the ground, his balance completely thrown off. His build was now better suited to using four limbs to walk, rather than two.

He’d ran here on all fours.

'I look like…' The Ghostbuster searched his memory. His altered image was familiar...

It struck him "Beast! From the X-Men." 

Every New Yorker knew about those mutants.

 _‘Or do you prefer_ Homo Superior _?’_ He’d said that to Peter, right before everything went wrong.

How could he have been so stupid? How had he not seen that he was ill, and everything was wrong? How had he allowed things to go this far?

Anger coursed through him. He clenched his fist, the long claws biting into his palms.

'Stop it! That's what got you into this mess.' The same inner voice that’d cautioned him against attacking Peter cried out. 

Ray unclenched his hands. Anger had triggered his beastly transformation. There was no telling what would happen if he got mad again.

Blood welled up on his palms. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head, holding in a sob that had nothing to do with the pain.

\---------------

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My private headcannon is that most of the New-York based superheroes/paranormal fighters/just plain weirdos live in the same multi-verse. X-Men, Ghostbusters, TMNT (not that I have them showing up!), what have you. Crept in a little fierce here...


	4. Chapter 4

"What the hell just happened?”

Winston’s question went unanswered. Egon stared into the distance, where Ray had vanished. Peter had given chase but lost the younger man after a few twists and turns. He trudged back, face pale.

“Peter? Talk to me.” Winston placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “What happened to Ray?”

Peter shook his head. “I have no idea. Egon? Theory?”

Egon didn’t acknowledge the request. Nor was he blinking.

“No, not now.” Winston hissed. “Peter, he’s in shock!”

They flanked the fair-haired man, ready to catch him if his legs gave out, or he pitched over in a faint. 

“Egon? Egon, come back. It’s not nice to scare Dr. Venkman.” Peter pleaded.

Nothing.

“I’m going to use the mental link.” Peter steered Egon towards the Ectomobile. He walked easily enough. Good sign. “Winston, can you keep a lookout for...well...anything?”

Winston nodded, feeling useless. He couldn’t go after Ray by himself and leave Peter and Egon vulnerable. “No problem. Go get him.”

Peter gave him a grateful smile and shut his eyes.

The golden thread wavered uneasily in front of him. He flew down its length, through the familiar doorway, and down to the ground.

Egon wasn’t hard to find. He wasn’t mired in REM sleep, and was only a few feet from where Peter landed.

“Egon!” Peter grabbed him, ignoring the drag of his wings and the strange sensation of his tail on the floor. “It’s okay. But I need you to snap out of this.”

Egon trembled under Peter’s hands. “Ray--I---Peter, he…”

This was bad. “Easy, Spengs. Just take a deep breath. Okay, good. Another. Listen to my voice. Nothing can hurt you here.”

Egon jerked. “It’s not me, it’s _Ray_. The transformation. I’ve been blind to the signals all this time. The radiation from the packs affected him as well, and I didn’t see it.”

“He’s been mutated.” Just like his own psychic ability. Just like Egon’s. Except their mutations were invisible. “We’ll find him, Spengs. We’ll reverse it.”

“I don’t think we can.” Egon locked eyes with him. This wasn’t simple terror: this was guilt and panic and regret wrapped up in terror.

“We’ll figure it out.” Peter insisted. They _had_ to. “It’ll be okay.”

Egon turned from him. “I designed those packs. This is all my fault.”

“No Egon, we all worked on those. We all knew the risks. You and Ray knew before the rest of us, even!” Peter gripped him tight. Egon couldn’t have a prolonged relapse, not now, not when Ray was out there, alone, confused, and scared.

They could share the guilt later.

Something in the mist behind them howled. It sounded like Ray. He’d heard that howl before. Sometimes when he came to wake Egon, that howl sounded in the distance.

But that was impossible.

Unless… “Egon, you haven’t seen this transformation before, right?”

Egon turned back to him. “During my entrapment. I saw Ray...it was just like a few moments ago. In reality. But how could I have seen it? I’m not precognitive.”

God forbid. The last thing Egon needed was another issue to wrap his head around.

There were other possibilities. Osark might have planted the vision. Or had Ray might have been aware, deep down, and Egon somehow picked up on the thought.

Which was worse?

 

Egon clutched Peter, fighting the terror. Peter held him. They’d discussed so many of the horrors Egon had seen during his mental year of torture. How had this slipped past? What else was he hiding?

“Come back with me. We need to work with Winston to find Ray.” He pleaded.

Egon clutched him for a few seconds longer, then released his grip. “Of course. It was just a very potent shock.”

 

“Good. We’re gonna need that big brain of yours.” Peter faked a smile.

He opened his physical eyes. Egon blinked. “Winston, did I miss anything of major importance?”

“Nothing new.” Relief flitted in Winston’s voice.

Egon took a deep breath. “Which way did Raymond go?”

“West.” Winston shook his head. “I’ve never seen anyone run that fast.”

“He must be terrified.” Peter opened the door to the Ectomobile. “We’ll find him.”

“Find him and help him.” Winston agreed. “We’ll get him back to normal.”

Egon rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m not sure we can.”

“What do you mean?” Winston asked as they got into the back seat.

"The mutation may be may be permanent."

“Mutation?” Winston echoed. “Like you and Pete?”

“I’m afraid so.” Egon hunched in on himself. “When things have settled down, I’d like to run some tests on you, Winston. I’m afraid my proton pack design was deeply flawed and we are now suffering the consequences. I don’t want you to be caught unawares.”

“Easy Egon, we can’t know that.” Winston placed a hand on his shoulder. “It could have been something else. Maybe Ray’s been cursed, or possessed. We don’t know for sure yet.”

Egon shook his head. “I do know. If I hadn’t been so focused on my issues I would have seen what was happening. I could have stopped it. And now Raymond is alone, trapped in that form--”

"We can't know anything for sure until we find him!" Peter cut in. "Let’s concentrate on one thing at a time."

“We’ll find him. We’ll fix this.” Winston insisted.

Egon nodded, but didn’t sit up or look Winston in the eye.

“Egon, do you have anything that can track Ray?” Peter asked. Best to get him thinking about something he could fix now.

Egon pulled the GAGA meter from his belt and fiddled with a few settings. "He's gone this way. We've got to hurry. His biorhythmic patterns are fading."

"What?" Peter asked.

"Trail's going cold."

"Ah."

\--------------  
To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. Fixing problems with old stories is a lot tougher than just writing new ones. -_-;


End file.
